From Aug 2007
I got this one in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks, John!
It pours from 12oz bottle a hazy deep amber with a very small head of foam with a bit of lacing.
The smell is huge on the caramel malt...reminds me of taking a whiff of a JW Lees Harvest Ale or similar brews.
The taste is as big on the caramel malt as the nose. Sweet? Yes it is. Too sweet? Not for my palate. There be big Oak flavours here as well and some vanilla.(says so on the label and it's true) There's also a good presence of dark fruit like fig and a touch of plum and it has just a wee bit of hop bitterness that shows up right before the finish. But as far as the style goes, I don't *want* much of a hop presence; the malt is king here and rightfully so. Great sipping brew and at 11%abv, that's the way to handle this baby though, I have to say, DFH has done a remarkable job of keeping the potent alcohol out of the taste and it doesn't really warm me at all as I swallow this nectar.The mouthfeel is thick and chewy and the carbo is light, just right for the style.
I've had this one before, years ago, and I'm *still* enthralled with how well of a crafted brew this is. Ok, I'll go ahead and say it. It's one of my favourites. Thanks again, John!!

Not sure I'm on board with using juniper berries in a style as sweet as barleywine, especially one with the added touch of maple syrup. Starts with a nice, breakfast-like friendliness, the syrup and vanilla giving off a waffles-n-whipped cream vibe backed up by notes of apple and smoked tea. Bitterness on the back end shores up any cloy notes, but the juniper takes the brew in an odd herbal direction, like somebody stashed some pine needles in between your pancake stack. I'm a fan of hoppy-as-hell barleywines and juniper beers, but mixing the two ain't for me. Nose is caramel and toffee and juniper. Pour comes out a viscous, opaque brown with a modest off-white head and little lacing. Good texture; a year in the basement takes away any boozy heat. Too bad I can't reconcile the juniper and the sweetness.

Pours dark, orange/amber-whiskey color and nearly opaque with a 4 finger off white to tan head with an aroma of malt, vanilla and maple syrup. Tastes of malt, vanilla and maple syrup with an oak and Belgian yeast, clove finish with perhaps resin and bitter pine taste from the juniper berries. It has a sticky, viscous palate with little to no carbonation. It's full-bodied and exceptionally complex and a little smokey.

Dark orange / brown pour with scant foam. Lots of malt in the nose along with some spice and some earthiness. Medium, slick body with a sweet finish. Complex flavors all rather sweet: maple, berry, and woody. Strong alcohol finish. The flavors are very well balanced, but ultimately too sweet.

Bottle from Old Town. Pours a clearish copper with a finger of foam that dissipates quickly. 2016 version. Big berry notes on the nose, dates and some faint peat aromas. Vanilla bean, earth, apricot & peat on the palate. Bitter w/ tart young strawberry-like quality. Almost like an old ale. The maple was kinda muted for me.

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